Editorial Marijuana

The big debate in California is wether the state should legalize marijuana, and then tax it to bring in revenues to help California climb out of the mountain of a debt it got in. Although Marijuana is deemed as a gateway drug that can lead into harder drugs, legalizing Marijuana will help In the past twelve months, only two states have legalize marijuana for recreational use, and California was not one of them. They were Colorado, and Washington. As of right now California can only use marijuana for medical use. California right now is in huge debt of twenty-eight billion dollars. Legalizing, then taxing marijuana would be a solution to help solve California’s debt issues immediately, while taxing Marijuana will make about 1.3 billion a year according to Time Magazine.

However, there are neigh sayers against legalizing marijuana. They think marijuana is a gateway drug and could lead to other “harder” drugs. Many people believe that by using marijuana will increase your risk of trying, and getting addicted to another drug. Another risk factor with legalizing marijuana is the abuse factor of marijuana. While marijuana already is, “ the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States, and more teens are in treatment for marijuana addiction than for alcohol or any other drug,” according to an article in the Los Angeles Times posted.

Another risk with legalizing marijuana and taxing it along with tobacco and alcohol is allowing another drug to be another problem in society. After tobacco and alcohol follows, domestic abuse, illness, and drinking and driving which all cost money to clean up, and fix. An article in the Los Angeles time wrote that, “CASA estimates government spends $8.95 to clean up the often tragic consequences of addiction, driving under the influence, domestic abuse or illness,”. CASA is the National center for...

...﻿Martin Torrijos
Mr. Fontenot
English 104-401
October 28, 2013
Marijuana Legalization
The legalization of marijuana has been a heated topic of debate for many years. In 1937, the United Sates of America passed the Marijuana Tax Act, which made transfer or possession of cannabis (marijuana plant) illegal throughout the US under federal law. Studies conducted throughout the years have proven that cannabis can be utilized as a medical supplement. In fact 20, states and the District of Columbia have passed laws to legalize marijuana under certain medical conditions. According to the White House, it is the most commonly used recreational drug in the United States. It has been proven to be less harmful than alcohol, which is currently legal; and prohibition caused a black market to arise leading to an increase in an organized criminal activity. The fight against those organizations is costing a great amount of money and was cause for the loss of many innocent. While there are strong arguments in support of prohibition there are stronger arguments in support of the legalization if marijuana than there are counterarguments to keep the substance illegal.
When comparing the Alcohol Prohibition in the 1920s and compare that situation with the current situation with the legal status of marihuana, we cans ee that a repetition of history is occurring. According to Douglas McVoy, at...

...Legalizing Marijuana
Randy Scott
Soc 120
Martin DiBello
Feb 6, 2012
Marijuana is currently an illegal substance made from the dry leaves of a hemp plant. It contains over 400 chemicals. This substance has been given many different nicknames such as weed, pot, green, cannabis, skunk, and the list goes on. Marijuana has different psychological and physical effects. Marijuana is usually smoked in cigarette papers but can also be put in food and beverages. There are many different beliefs on whether marijuana should be legalized or not.
Marijuana has been around for centuries and has been used for medicine in the past. The Chinese has discovered as a medicine for healing purposes. Centuries later, a Chinese medical text (1578 A.D.) described the use of marijuana to treat vomiting, parasitic infections, and hemorrhage. Marijuana continued to be used in China as a folk remedy for diarrhea and dysentery and to stimulate the appetite. (Mack, Alison. Marijuana as Medicine: The Science Beyond the Controversy)
The Harrison Act of 1914 made it where a non-medical person cannot buy or possess any marijuana under the National Firearms Act and the Marijuana Tax Act. The Congress came up with a way such as; every person buying a firearm or marijuana had to pay a steep transfer fee and carry out the order. All the...

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Legalizing Marijuana
February 22, 2014
University of Phoenix
COM/172
Kevin L. Maevers, MA
Legalizing Marijuana
What would happened if our government decided to legalize marijuana and tax it? Wouldn’t it be a huge change in our country, especially since America is still in debt? Legalizing marijuana can reduce the amount of American money going to international criminal gangs and increase our own economy. We could make enough money to get out of debt and provide needed and generous funding of many important criminal justice and social programs. Legalizing Marijuana will not just make money for our government, but SAVE money for our government. Legalization this drug won’t just help our economy but it could have some medical value and effect on our agricultural products and law enforcements.
The hemp plant is a valuable natural resource. If marijuana were to be legalized, there would be no more confusion about hemp and it could allow this country to take advantage of hemp’s industrial and agricultural uses. Countries such as Canada, have been able to support legal hemp cultivation without making marijuana legal; however, in the U.S. opposition to legal marijuana is still the biggest problem to development of industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural product. The United States energy policy still continues to promote and encourage the...

...Kevin Birch
English 101
Research Paper
Dr. Shafer
Positive Outcome of Legal Marijuana
The questions about the legalization of marijuana have been floating around for many decades. The idea scares many conservatives, thinking that legal marijuana could bring the United States into a lethargic society. The legalization of marijuana would immediately and drastically reduce crime rate and form a more peaceful and productive society through its positive uses. It would also drastically curb government spending on a failed war.
The war on drugs is happening with effects on every level of society. With billions of dollars a year being spent on the war on drugs with little to no success on the front of actually stopping use or limiting supply for the people who would like to continue to use the drug. The only way to remedy this somewhat unnecessary spending is decriminalize the use of marijuana. “Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.” (Buckley C4)
A professor of psychology named Ethen Nadelmann is pro legalization of marijuana because current control policies are ineffective and costly. In the book Clashing Views, he states that more money should be spent on addiction treatment and less on marijuana...

...prohibited marijuana from being sold. Marijuana’s illegality has made marijuana notorious for its bad aspects to the public and continues to be a very controversial topic. This subject has been debated numerous times over the past few year and the issues surrounding it are both varied and complex. Many people in the world have their own personal views and beliefs on this topic. There are people believe that the legalization of marijuana is only acceptable for medical purposes. Supporters argue that it will greatly benefit our economy and that it is no more harmful than cigarettes or alcohol. The anti-marijuana view suggests that there are more negative effects that will come from the legalization than keeping it banned. Others feel that marijuana is a gateway drug and it can only lead to more serious problems. We must value both sides of the argument. However, there are many positive aspects of marijuana legalization benefiting individuals, as well as increasing the nation’s resources and economy. “It is estimated that the United States government spends ten billion dollars a year in its attempt to keep marijuana, while the state of California has revenue of fourteen billion annually for the product of its legalized medical marijuana.” (“Pros of Marijuana Legalization”) Even though marijuana is not legalized all over the...

...Among these are depression, physical illnesses, and addiction. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, cannabis, also know as marijuana, can affect all three of the above factors and even the brain itself. Legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes would have negative impacts on personal health which is also bad for society. It would also increase underage use, decrease the amount of tax revenue, and enlarge the number of illegal drug dealers.
Despite these negative effects, marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States (17.4 million past-month users) according to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. More than 29 million Americans ages 12 and older — 11.5% — reported using marijuana within the past year, a significant increase over numbers reported each year from 2002 to 2008 (NSDUH). Although no deaths have been recorded due to the use of cannabis, effects of long-term use are detrimental. THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, "hijacks and corrupts" the natural process of endocannabinoids, a key family of chemicals that help guide the brain in proper maturation, says Ruben Baler, a neuroscientist with the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). These chemicals "play key roles in memory formation, learning, decision-making," says Baler. In addition to effecting brain formation, marijuana usage can also cause impaired short-term memory, slow...

...The Legalization of Marijuana
Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines continuously. Policies in United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. Marijuana laws have been enacted since 1937, that’s over 75 years of prohibition. But in 1996, California passed Proposition 215, legalizing the use of prescription medical marijuana. Just like the failed attempt of alcohol prohibition, marijuana is now rising as the most popular drug in America. Marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the United States. However, it is an illegal substance. It could be used for medical purposes but how will it be kept from being distributed illegally?
Marijuana makes people with some mental illnesses more prone to psychosis. How will we protect vulnerable people from this harm? How will we be assured that the doctors prescribing the Medical Marijuana won’t take bribes to prescribe an “ill” person Marijuana. Most people don’t take these questions into consideration. There is not funding to pay police officials to make sure people won’t grow it and sell it illegally for their own profit. Marijuana is a gateway drug, in 2009, 2.3 million people reported trying pot in the U.S.A., and of those 2.3 million 717,000 marijuana users admited to trying Cocaine and 480,000 users tried Herion....